Total budget: 28.331.000 HUF
Project manager: Dr. Áron Péter
Duration:
from 1st December 2022. to 30th November 2025.
Summary:
In this proposal, we would like to study two highly important groups of pathogens related to bats, and their transmitting agents, the bat flies. One pathogen (Polychromophilus spp.) is closely related to malaria, which kills hundreds of thousands of people each year, and the other group (Bartonella spp.) is the taxonomic family of the bacteria responsible for cat scratch disease. In the case of bat flies, we would like to determine the role of different species in the spread of these pathogens. We would also examine the seasonal pattern of infection levels and their causes, as we suspect that the level of infection in populations increases due to reproductive stress. In addition, we would also like to study the specificity level of pathogen species towards their vectors, as this would help to explain the high diversity of Bartonella species in bats and help us to understand better their evolutionary past. The results of our research could provide important information to understand and fight against these pathogens.
